Reggie Brothers, the undersecretary for Science and Technology at the Homeland Security Department, is crowdsourcing ideas across four broad goals to determine where research and development is heading over the next decade. He will use the results of the crowdsourcing effort to influence S&T's strategic plan.

When disasters strike, information sharing becomes key for both first responders and the people affected on the ground. Over the past 10 months, two members of the private sector have dedicated their time and skills working with the federal government to develop apps and crowdsourcing techniques that could help save lives when the next Superstorm Sandy hits. Federal News Radio learns more about their individual projects as part of our special report, Solving Our Nation's Toughest Challenges: The Presidential Innovation Fellows.

The Department of Agriculture's new online
consumer complaint form could help the
agency trace the root of a food safety problem.
Federal News Radio interviews David
Goldman, assistant administrator for USDA's Food
Safety and Inspection Service.

The United States Agency for International Development called on volunteers to clean up data with more accurate geolocation information. Over the weekend, USAID held a crowdsourcing event asking for volunteers from the public to help code and research information on 20,000 records.